Malik’s Solo Direction

While opinion is divided between those who are upset that a member of One Direction has left the band and those upset that the other four will carry on, it’s been announced that Zayn Malik’s new solo material will be released on Simon Cowell’s record label.

Photo: PA, Mark Runnacles/AP, file

Performing in Glasgow, Scotland, with One Direction.

The British boy band is understood to have signed a new £10 million deal in 2013 to produce two more albums and a Greatest Hits for Syco.

Cowell won’t lose out on his investment as Malik is still bound by it. Malik has reportedly said he wants to be “a normal 22-year-old,” while The Independent says he got “sucked into something he could not control and is now doing his best to survive.”

The Daily Mail said that after Malik’s solo plans had been revealed, he still appeared to be “a notably glum figure.”